Modern communications systems are often comprised of a significant number of call facilitation platforms such as, but certainly not limited to, call signaling servers, location servers, and bearer functions. In many cases such network elements are deployed to provide call facilitation support for a corresponding geographic service area. Such call facilitation platforms typically each have at least one corresponding routing address whereby others within and without the system can identify and contact that call facilitation platform. In a fully meshed network architecture, each such call facilitation platform is essentially linked to every other geographic service area within the system. Such linkage permits and facilitates the correct routing of calls.
In many cases it becomes desirable or even necessary to operably couple a first communication network to another communication network. Such linkage can serve, for example, to permit an end-user in the first communication network to communicate with an end-user in the other communication network. In many cases, however, such networks differ from one another in significant ways. Gateways are therefore often employed to bridge networks in order to compatibly effect such inter-network communications.
In many cases, such a gateway presents itself to the elements of a given network as another of-kind network element. Accordingly, for example, when a given communication network comprises discrete call facilitation platforms such as call signaling servers, location servers, and bearer functions, a gateway will present itself to that network as itself comprising one or more of-kind call signaling servers, location servers, and/or bearer functions.
When two networks can be effectively bridged by only a single such gateway, it usually would present no significant issue to fully mesh the elements of that gateway with the other call facilitation platforms as comprise such networks. In many cases, however, one gateway will not suffice. Instead, two or (more typically) many more such gateways must be provided in order to assure adequate quality of service. It would be conceptually possible, of course, to fully mesh the elements of each such gateway with the call facilitation platforms as service the various geographic service areas of a given network, but such an approach in practice can be both burdensome and expensive.
In some cases, such problems can ultimately present a serious barrier to upward scaling of network size and expansion. For example, in some cases the number of physical and/or logical connections that a given call signaling server can support has an upper limit. When the number of necessary gateways (coupled with other necessary connections) exceeds the available number of supportable connections, a fully meshed deployment becomes impossible.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.